These days, it doesn’t matter whether your background is in print, digital or PR: digital marketing is where it’s at. You’ve got to be comfortable with digital, even if you may avoid it in your personal life, such as by boycotting Facebook or cringing the idea of having your own blog.
Digital marketing is here to stay. It’s efficient; offers high ROI and well—it’s where everyone’s eyeballs are.
So, how can you do digital marketing in a meaningful and authentic way? The following strategies are designed to help you connect with your audience and increase your levels of engagement.
1. We’re only human after all.
Yes, humanize your digital presence! Your customers—people—want to connect with other people, not with logos and corporate talk. This doesn’t mean that you can’t push your corporate brand or promotions, only that you should do it a very authentic way. Talk about things on a personal level.
“Your customers want to connect with other people, not with logos and corporate talk.”
Here’s what we mean:
- Take a stand on some issues, without fear of backlash. It’s okay to express beliefs, political opinions and interests. You can’t, and won’t, please everyone. Don’t expect to! But you can become more human and authentic by owning what you believe in at the brand level.
- Express support for people, charities, events, etc. that you legitimately care about.
- Share insights into your day-to-day company life that will help people connect with you. It could be images of your team working on its next great advertising campaign, a group of employees taking a walk at lunch break, or even a picture of everyone at happy hour or a company event.
2. Don’t follow a script, be genuine.
Stiff, scripted and overly conservative corporate talk may hit all the points you want to discuss—but it will certainly shut people out. Your customers are prospective buyers are savvy. T
hey don’t want anything that doesn’t feel real and genuine. It’s okay to speak to them in a casual way, like you would chat with a friend. Make jokes in social media, admit to wrongdoings, and show a bit of vulnerability.
3. Are you in the moment?
There are so many great tools out there that allow you to open the door to customers, right in the moment when something worthwhile is happening.
These tools create magic! They take your customers along for the ride, right in the moment with you, wherever you are.
- Use Periscope to stream a presentation
- Have your CEO talk to customers in real time about new products and news, via Facebook Live
- Host live twitter chats or live tweet about events, hot news stories or causes you care about
4. Take a holistic approach instead.
There’s a huge case of Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) in digital marketing. Don’t try to do it all. In fact, find peace in the fact that you cannot do it all. Rather, focus on the marketing channels that truly count to your customers.
If your customers aren’t on Twitter, then don’t worry about being on Twitter. If your customers don’t like video, then don’t use video.
5. Data matters quite a lot still.
Amid all the juggling and the execution, don’t lose sight of the master plan. Data still counts—it will help guide you.
Pay attention to your engagement metrics, what type of content your customers are responding to; what content they share the most. By listening to these cues, you can continue to craft and refine your plan to see the best results.
While marketing trends are always evolving, remember, marketing best practices remain. Test, test, test and refine your strategy based on what works.